A user typically provides authentication credentials, such as a login password, to a server computer at the start of or during a communication session. The server computer typically maintains a centralized storage area in the memory of the server computer for the storage of the authentication credentials, which are typically encrypted in some manner. The server computer can then check the authentication credentials received from the user against the encrypted authentication credentials stored in the server's computer's memory to authorize the user's access to the server.
If an established communication session between the user and the server computer abnormally terminates, the user generally has to reestablish the connection by starting a new communication session. To begin the new communication session, the user typically has to retransmit the authentication credentials (e.g., login password) to the server computer so that the server computer can authorize the user for the new communication session. This retransmission of the authentication credentials of a user across multiple communication sessions repeatedly exposes the authentication credentials of that user to potential attackers, thereby decreasing the level of security of the authentication credentials. Thus, it is desirable to provide a technique for reestablishing a communication session between a client computer and a server computer without repeatedly transmitting the authentication credentials.